Bleach: Kingdoms and Princesses

Royal Pain

"So let me get this straight," Ichigo said, his eyes squeezed tight with frustration. "You three are refugees from the Kasumioji Clan."

Rurichiyo, Kenryu, and Enryu all nodded.

"And the vizier of the clan, Kumoi, wants to take over the clan."

The three nodded again in the affirmative.

"And in order to do that he needs to kill Rurichiyo, the last surviving member of the royal family."

They continued to bob their heads.

"And that is why you three fled to the World of the Living, to avoid being caught and assassinated."

They nodded.

"That is a terrible idea," Ichigo roared as he upended Urahara's table.

The newcomers looked on in shock as the others in the household just sighed at the display.

"If you're the princess then you can order your men to imprison Kumoi and get rid of him. Coming here only puts you in needless danger! And it gets us needlessly involved when we shouldn't be! You've only aggravated the problem!"

"Please Ichigo, contain yourself and refrain from destroying my shop," Urahara said good naturedly. "There is a lot that you don't understand here."

Fool," Yoruichi huffed. "Royal houses are very complex and though they are united under a ruling family, loyalties do not always reside with them. These three are in danger. I have heard rumors about the viceroy of the Kasumioji Clan gaining a lot of power and influence lately. And they have not all been pleasant."

"Exactly," Kenryu said with urgency. "Our position is very precarious. While many vassals and the majority of the clan's workers, including peasants remain loyal to the princess, Kumoi has amassed a large number of skilled assassins and warriors who could easily overthrow us!"

"And so you want a Soul Reaper on your side to deal with these guys," Ichigo assumed.

"And there you'd be wrong, at least in part," Urahara said. "You see Ichigo, you are assuming that these guys who Kumoi has hired are small fry. People with no or low spiritual pressure. However, not all gifted and powerful souls in the Soul Society become Soul Reapers. Some decide to work for noble clans as soldiers and guards. Also, Soul Reapers unable to make an officer's rank in the 13 Court Guard Squads, but who do have some power to them, often go on leave to serve the nobility. Though their numbers are normally relatively few in comparison with the garrison, after the war with Ywach, there might be as many, if not more, powerful soldiers serving outside the Gotei than within."

"That upsets the real balance of power in the Soul Society," Uryu said with sudden realization.

"Yes it does," Yoruichi said. "But the heroes of the war are strong and have the backing of the Soul Palace. Most greedy noblemen know not to try a coup. However, with a weakened oversight, the nobility in the weaker clans might try to oust some their leaders and attempt to seize greater power and influence, even turning on other houses. This seems to be the case here, am I correct?"

The princess bobbed her head in agreement. "Kumoi sees an opportunity and is taking it. I am not sure how he managed to gain as much power as he did, but we would not have come here if there was no other choice."

Kenryu bowed to Ichigo, "Ichigo Kurosaki, our situation is dire, and so we came here to the World of the Living to enlist your help. Everyone knows you are a hero of the Quincy War, the one who slew Ywach! We know that if you help us out, Kumoi and his men won't stand a chance! Please, Ichigo Kurosaki, help us protect the princess!"